Answer: Script

## Detailed Explanation ### Requirements Analysis The question requires executing a stored procedure in an Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pool and using the returned result set as input for downstream activities, while minimizing development effort. ### Option Analysis **C: Script Activity** ✅ - The Script activity in Azure Data Factory/Synapse Analytics pipelines can execute SQL statements, including stored procedures, and capture the result set as activity output - According to Microsoft documentation, the Script activity specifically supports: "Run stored procedures. If the SQL statement invokes a stored procedure that returns results from a temporary table, use the WITH RESULT SETS option to define metadata for the result set." - It can "Save the rowset returned from a query as activity output for downstream consumption" - This directly addresses the requirement to use the result set as input for downstream activities **B: Stored Procedure Activity** ❌ - While the Stored Procedure activity is designed to execute stored procedures, it has limitations - The Stored Procedure activity does not support returning result sets or output parameters from stored procedures - It cannot capture the returned data for use in downstream activities - This makes it unsuitable for scenarios where the stored procedure output needs to be consumed by subsequent pipeline activities **A: U-SQL** ❌ - U-SQL is primarily used for big data processing in Azure Data Lake Analytics - It is not designed for executing stored procedures in Azure Synapse Analytics dedicated SQL pools - Using U-SQL would require significant development effort and is not the appropriate tool for this scenario **D: Notebook** ❌ - Notebooks are primarily used for interactive data exploration and development - While they can execute SQL statements, they are not the most efficient choice for pipeline orchestration - Using notebooks in a pipeline would require additional configuration and development effort compared to the Script activity ### Optimal Solution Rationale The Script activity is the optimal choice because: 1. It directly supports executing stored procedures and capturing their result sets 2. It provides built-in functionality to pass the returned data to downstream activities 3. It minimizes development effort by handling the data flow natively within the pipeline 4. It aligns with Microsoft's recommended approach for scenarios requiring stored procedure execution with result set consumption The requirement to "minimize development effort" reinforces that the Script activity is the correct choice, as it provides the necessary functionality without requiring custom code or complex workarounds.